B.A., Geography, (Data Science, Community and Global Health)

Macalester College

St. Paul, MN

2018 - 2014

Data Scientist

Metropolitan Council

St. Paul, MN

current - 2018

• Data scientist in community development research and travel research and modeling.
• Duties include data visualization, research methods and statistical model development, and R package development and maintenance.
• Promoted from Associate in May 2021

Research Intern

Metropolitan Council

St. Paul, MN

2018 - 2018

• Developed innovative method for using aggregated and anonymized location-based services (LBS)/ cell phone location data to analyze regional parks traffic patterns across multiple seasons and years.
• Independently created an interactive, online data visualization using open-source tools, such as R Shiny, and a git-based workflow.
• Successfully presented findings to stakeholders and provided complete documentation.

Every Penny Counts Emergency Financial Assistance Program Assistant

JustUs Health

St. Paul, MN

2018 - 2016

• Completed tasks such as check requests, posting, data management, record keeping, and program development.

Sexual Health Educator

Macalester College Health and Wellness Center

St. Paul, MN

2018 - 2015

• Collaboratively developed sexual health education curriculum for all first-year students
• Worked with student organizations and administrative offices to provide seminars on topics including sexual violence, Title IX Policy, and healthy relationships

Submissions Manager

Persephone’s Daughters

Remote

2017 - 2015

• Helped produce a high quality literary magazine that fulfills the mission of empowering women who have experienced various forms of abuse and degradation.
• Organized all prose, poetry, and art submissions and direct an international staff via internet communication.

Teaching Fellow

Breakthrough Twin Cities

St. Paul, MN

2017 - 2015

• Taught 7th and 9th grade students in Summers 2015 and 2016 with independently developed math and epidemiology curricula
• Planned and executed a leadership retreat for about 40 ninth grade students.
• Planned and executed a two hour show displaying our students’ hard work to an audience of at most 650 people, as well as a display hallway, potluck, t-shirt, and planning necessary for each.

Health Advocate

Minnesota Internship Center Charter High School

Minneapolis, MN

2016 - 2016

• Advocated for students ages 14-21 in doctor, dental, vision, and health insurance needs.
• Served as certified Mnsure navigator

Communications Chair

Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church

Nashville, TN

2014 - 2012

• Elected by peers to direct photography and video production for large youth events
• Coordinated peers, administrative staff, and conference production company staff

Oddly Satisyfing - Find delight in the mundane¹

rstudio::conf(2022)

Washington, D.C.

N/A

• How to take a project you hate and turn it into something you love

COVID-19 Surveillance at the Metro Plant²

Metropolitan Council

St. Paul, MN

N/A

• Open source project and R Shiny app

Regional Truck Corridor Study³

Metropolitan Council

St. Paul, MN

N/A

• Making a legacy project reproducible

Regional Parks and the American Community Survey⁴

Metropolitan Council

St. Paul, MN

N/A

• Interactive visualization displaying regional parks and trails in context with American Community Survey (ACS) demographic data

Twin Cities Rent Trends⁵

Metropolitan Council

St. Paul, MN

N/A

• Interactive dashboard for analyzing rental housing market trends in the seven-county Twin Cities region
• Users can compare metrics by data source and visualize the relationship between rent and vacancy rates

Monitoring public adherence to social distancing guidelines with traffic data⁶

2020 AMPO Virtual Conference

Remote

N/A

• To estimate public adherence to social distancing guidelines during the Coronavirus outbreak, we analyzed departures from typical traffic volumes on the metro freeway system of the Twin Cities region. A robust modeling approach, open-source code repository, and web-based dashboard for interacting with the data are assisting decision makers in Minnesota as they update social distancing guidelines and monitor economic recovery.

Using Location Based Services Data for Calculating the Greenhouse Emissions of Communities in the Minnesota Metropolitan Region⁷

2020 AMPO Virtual Conference

Remote

N/A

• To address the scarcity of transportation emissions data in Minnesota, the Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities has developed greenhouse gas emission estimates for transportation and land for cities, townships, and counties of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Region. This session will demonstrate how to leverage big data to centralize this type of research, save public funding, and enable communities to focus their efforts on implementing strategies to become more sustainable.

councilR⁸

Metropolitan Council

St. Paul, MN

N/A

• Created and maintained an organization specific R package
• Package includes templates, color palettes, and standard data processing functions

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Passenger and Commercial Transportation⁹

Metropolitan Council

St. Paul, MN

N/A

• Independently developed technique for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from commerical and passenger vehicles
• Collaborated with colleagues to include data in comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions inventory

Minimum distance to COVID-19 testing facilities¹⁰

Metropolitan Council

St. Paul, MN

N/A

• A map series analyzing how COVID-19 testing centers are distributed across Minnesota

A brief introduction to R packages and package development¹¹

Metropolitan Council

St. Paul, MN

N/A

• Introduction to the R package I wrote for the Metropolitan Council
• I review the anatomy of an R package, highlight a few package features, and provide an overview of how to use GitHub for collaboration at the Council.

Who is a local? Using aggregated cell phone location data to research regional parks visitors¹²

Metropolitan Council

St. Paul, MN

N/A

• Tallk and workshop for students on using aggregated location-based services (LBS) data to gain insights on regional parks visitors

Como Regional Park Hex Grid StreetLight Analysis¹³

Metropolitan Council

St. Paul, MN

N/A

• Visualize high activity areas within Como Regional Park and seasonal trends

Chuck Green Civic Engagement Fellowship

JustUs Health

St. Paul, MN

N/A

• Independently researched mental health disparities through large-scale client survey and literature review
• Gathered comprehensive feedback from JustUs staff through focus groups and interviews

Color Palette Exploration¹⁵

lizroten.com

N/A

N/A

• Color palette exploration with ggplot2 and generative methods

Radial rtistry¹⁶

lizroten.com

N/A

N/A

• Generative art with ggplot2

Maps with {edgebundle}¹⁷

lizroten.com

N/A

N/A

• Mapping US flight networks

Converting Peloton resistance to Bowflex C6 resistance¹⁸

lizroten.com

N/A

N/A

• Visualizing spin bike difficulty

Finding the perfect sock pattern with ravelRy¹⁹

lizroten.com

N/A

N/A

• Using the Ravelry API to find just the right sock pattern

Housing Density in US Cities²⁰

lizroten.com

N/A

N/A

• Examining residential zoning in Pittsburgh, Austin, and Boston

Fisk’s ‘Mississippi Meander’ in R²¹

lizroten.com

N/A

N/A

• A few maps inspired by Harold Fisk’s 1944 geological investigation

Visualizing mental health data with ggplot2²²

lizroten.com

N/A

N/A

• Visualization project using my own daily mental health data
• Designed both static infographic and animated plots

3 Years of Mental Health: A quantified-self story²³

lizroten.com

N/A

N/A

• Mapping my travel patterns and mental health from 2015-2017

HIV and African American Populations in the US²⁴

lizroten.com

N/A

N/A

• A value-by-alpha map showing the intersection of African American populations and HIV prevalence